I found this much more difficult than SDW50 a few weeks ago. I felt uncomfortable for much longer during NDW50 last Saturday.
The first half of the race was fine and perhaps here lies the clue to my discomfort. At 24 miles you hit Box Hill, the first in a series of sharp hills filling the second half of the race (taking in Botley and Reigate and a few very steep climbs).
I also noticed that the Tailwind mix was stronger than I was used to, and I couldn't stomach it any more after 31 miles, switching to water (which helped a bit). But the nauseous feeling got worse on the climbs.
On a positive note, I managed to keep everything down, and to keep eating a bit even after the final checkpoint (a couple of gels). The Precision chews were good up to a point but by this time I couldn't eat any more. Coke and watermelon were consumed in increasing, and then decreasing, quantities.
It was a bit hot as well around the middle sections, but it cooled down fairly quickly by mid-afternoon, so heat wasn't a huge factor. It was very cool and raining a bit by the end, so my clothing choices were right on the money. I had a very thin base layer on underneath a technical t-shirt, and long Injinji socks.
The NDW50 route is about a mile and a half longer than SDW50, which is potentially significant. For me, it meant really having to run it in at the end so that I could receive the medal after all that work! It was great to see Drew egging everyone on and doing a little sweep as the finish line became visible off to our extreme left in a field. We had to go around a bit of hedge and lane to finally hit the finish line after Drew had told me I had a 'smidge' over a mile to go, and it was 'in the bag'. That was music to my ears as I had been doomsdaying a bit that my pace wouldn't carry me through. I also had a boost when a fellow runner told me his watch had hit 50 miles (he later told me it had hit 55!).
I ran NDW50 entirely on my own, with just a few little chats with other runners along the way. I saw some familiar faces, said hi here and there, traded an anecdote, and then moved on, running my own race from start to finish. There was no one with whom I could say I was "on the same page" on this race.
That was fine, and it worked, getting me through. In future, I will go with 500ml tailwind/500ml water in two bottles from the start. Feet and brain were both solid throughout, as were my legs, and my recovery was almost instantaneous. I was walking pretty normally both evening of (Eurovision snack-getting), and the next day, touring around Windsor with a relative from Canada.
As with SDW50, I'd give NDW50 a 10/10 (would do again).
